Puppy Obedience Training

Puppy obedience training is one of the most challenging, but also the most exciting parts of bringing up your dog.

It will take time, consistence, and a lot of patience, but the rewards will keep on giving for the rest of your relationship.

I believe that the most important thing people fail to understand about obedience training their puppy is the importance of it, or "Why do it?".

I'll be addressing the WHYs below, but I'll also help you select a method of training, and and exactly what commands you should focus on at first. By the time you're finished reading – you'll be as excited about obedience training your puppy as I am!

So, let's get started…

Why Train Your Puppy at All?

Many people get so engrossed in looking after their puppy when they first get it home, that they either forget or are completely unaware of the need to start instilling some useful associations in his head. So before they know it, their puppy is 6 months old, and is unsocialized, unruly and well on the way to dominating the household.

Although some people instinctively manage to create rules in the household pertaining their puppy, most people are oblivious to the long-lasting damage they may be doing to their dog-human relationship by not taking action.

The truth is that dogs (puppies) need structure in their lives in order to live happily. By not training your puppy to abide by the household rules, you're giving him a free reign over the 'pack' – your family. Apart from the need for structure – your puppy will also need to understand the pecking order in the 'pack'.

So unless you start working on establishing yourself as the 'pack' leader, your puppy will step in to take that position – then you end up with a rough, demanding and dominating dog that puts strain on your own family, and can even grow up to be dangerous.

The bottom line here is, that even if you don't want a dog that can do a million tricks like clockwork, you should still invest time in teaching the basic obedience training techniques, to ensure that your dog has a structured routine, knows who's the 'boss' and respects that the food comes from you.

What Methods of Training Should You Use?

There are many methods out there proclaiming to be the next best thing to dog obediance training, but you should focus on picking one that's stood the test of time. Fad training techniques come and go, so make sure you follow solid puppy training advice to enable you to easily train your puppy or dog in all circumstances.

Here are the most common puppy obedience training methods:

Clicker Training
Dog Whispering Method
Ultrasonic Whistle Method
Positive Reinforcement Method

It's up to you to choose what method suits you and your puppy, but I am a huge advocate of the Positive Reinforcement method. This method basically allows you to develop a loving relationship with your puppy, whilst teaching him good manners, and developing his existing great dog breed personality.

Here are the principles of this method in short:

Avoid punishment – rather reinforce good behavior, and don't reward bad behavior by giving it attention.
Reward desirable behaviors.
Prevent self-rewarding behaviors by removing them.
‘Train in’ good behaviors rather than ‘training out’ bad ones.
Work with your puppy’s natural movements to create situations where he will do what you want him to – it’s an extra training opportunity.
Train in a quite place to avoid distractions.

When is the Best Time to Start Obedience Training?

Bear in mind that at 6-8 weeks old (the usual time you will bring your pooch home), your puppy is like a toddler – it has little coordination of movement – has little idea of the world as a whole. He wants to play, and eat and be loved – the rest can wait… So in light of this, you can't really expect much of him in terms of following your commands or in terms of good puppy behavior.

Whilst some trainers will advise you to wait until he's older, my advice to you is (and this is tried and tested) that you start from day one to create associations in your puppy's mind – associations that later on he'll learn are commands, and he'll happily follow, because that's what you've taught him from the start.

Two caveats to my advice:

Understand that your puppy wants to please you, and when accidents happen – especially when it comes to puppy potty training, or when he just can't seem to get things right – it's not because he wants to spite you – it's because he's little. Be patient and loving.

Don't expect over night miracles, and don't expect your puppy to actually do what you ask him to do. It sound silly, but at this stage all you want him to do is to start making the connection between a word command like SIT (and the tone of voice in which it's issued) and the action of sitting. Help him and praise him when he gets it right – trust me it will pay dividends!

What Commands Should You Teach Him First, Second, etc?

Don't take on too much at first. I'd suggest you start out with the SIT, NO, OK and COME commands. These can be taught as part of his feeding routine, his play time, and his bedtime routine, so it makes it easier to incorporate.

Later on, as your puppy gets used to the above 4 commands, you can start training in the other useful commands like, STAY, HEEL, FETCH and QUIET.

OK, this is all the essential knowledge about puppy obedience training – all that's left for you to do is get on with it – hahaha. And have fun…